Brooks Brothers: 200 Years of American Style
Presidents from Kennedy to Trump have worn Brooks Brothers.
- Brooks Brothers is America's oldest clothing brand, established in 1818.
- Brooks Brothers was the first to sell "ready-to-wear" clothing for men, and the first US label to export its clothing internationally.
- The brand has made its mark becoming the de facto menswear brand for celebrities, Wall Street executives, and US presidents.
In 1818, at 46 years old, Henry Sands Brooks bid $15,250 at an auction and became the official owner of a building at Catherine and Cherry Streets in New York City. That building became the first storefront for Brooks Brothers - back then called "Brooks's New York City."
The evolution of the brand, from a corner store to an internationally renowned and recognized name, is chronicled in the new book " Brooks Brothers: 200 Years of American Style."Complete with accounts and quotes from the brand's current CEO, Claudio Del Vecchio, famous fashion designers, and style journalists, the book provides a 360-degree view of how Brooks Brothers was created and how it has stayed relevant.
Brooks Brothers has been the leader of multiple major trends and disruptions within the textile industry. Their invention of the soft-collared button-down polo shirt - which was introduced in the 19th century - has been worn by everyone from Ivy League students to Andy Warhol. This new kind of shirt, at the time, got rid of the need for stiff detachable linen collars.
Brooks Brothers also popularized seersucker in the 1920s and was the first brand to bring linen crash, shantung silk, and cotton cord into the US. But the brand isn't just for men.
As early as 1910, women were borrowing styles, like the polo coat, from Brooks Brothers. According to Life magazine, in the 1940s, female college students from Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley were demanding the brand make women's fit clothing. In 1949, the brand finally introduced their first ever woman-fit polo shirt and has since greatly expanded their women's department.
Below, take a look at evolution of Brooks Brothers.
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During the 2017 presidential inauguration, both President Trump and former-president Barack Obama wore Brooks Brothers coats during their greeting.
Today, actors such as Stephen Colbert, a long-time customer, continue to wear the brand. It's been featured in countless television shows such as Mad Men and Gossip Girl, and various movies.
But before it became what it is today, Brooks Brothers went through several name changes after its founder Henry died in 1833. He left the Catherine Street shop and business with his five sons, who officially changed the name to Brooks Brothers.
By the 1950s, Brooks Brothers had established itself as a trusted brand under the company's new president John C. Wood. "[Wood] vowed never to change any of Brooks Brothers' sacred traditions and classic products, famously saying that he would 'rather wear a zoot suit in Times Square,'" writes Betts.
"[Brooks] laid the groundwork for ready-made fashion, a revolutionary idea that may seem obvious now, but was radically disruptive to early 19th-century sartorial traditions of custom-made clothing," writes author Kate Betts in the book.
Between 1818 and 1946, Brooks Brothers was at the height of fashion, creating unique, American-made designs. "They were the first store to sell ready-made suits off the rack, the first to introduce the foulard tie in 1890, and the first to bring Harris tweed to the United States from Scotland in 1900," writes Betts. In 1920, the brand began designing with Madras fabric, which became a staple summer-weight fabric, imported from India.
"Brooks Brothers was trusted because it was worn by the most trusted men, people like Walter Cronkite, who would appear every evening on television in a white button-down oxford cloth shirt and a gray sack suit," writes Betts. Another loyal Brooks Brother customer was actor Steve McQueen, as well as President John F. Kennedy.
"We're not good because we're old, we are old because we're good," current Chairman and CEO, Claudio Del Vecchio, is quoted saying in the book.
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